Anne Kansiime, “Africa’s Queen of Comedy,” has had quite the rise to fame. Beginning as a YouTube celebrity in her home country of Uganda, she has transformed into an international star. She’s racked up awards including Teeniez Funniest Comedian (2016), the African Entertainment Award for Best Comedian (2015), Rising Star Comedian of the Year (2015), and dozens of others. Here’s an inside look at quick-tongued Anne Kansiime, one of the funniest comedians in the business.
Sources: Kansiime Anne, New Vision, Big Eye, Kansiime Anne Interview, SNMS Live
Kansiime attended Makerere University, the oldest and largest public university in Uganda, where she earned a bachelor of arts in social science. She wanted to study music, dance and drama at university, but her parents would not allow it.
Kansiime attributes her sense of humor to her parents, and maintains that she is the least funny person in her family. She remembers friends coming over to her house when she was younger and leaving in tears laughing at the things that would come out of her parents’ mouths.
As an undergrad in 2007, Kansiime got involved with the Theatre Factory, a group that performed drama skits at the Uganda National Theatre in Kampala. After the group disbanded, she continued on with its replacement, “Fun Factory,” and also appeared on several TV shows such as “Barbed Wire,” “U-Turn,” and “MiniBuzz” on NTV.
After posting some of her own sketch comedy skits on YouTube, Kansiime was encouraged by the positive feedback she received. She began to post more and more videos, and her videos continue to receive thousands of views each month.
The Face of a Child Kansiime Anne Relief clinic in Zambia provides medical services to residents of small villages — a cause close to Kansiime’s heart. She continually donates to the clinic because, as she put it, “I never thought that would ever happen to me.”
Source: Kansiime Anne Interview
Citizen TV in Kenya offered Kansiime the opportunity to produce, star, and present her own weekly comedy show in 2014. She now hosts “Don’t Mess With Kansiime” on Maisha Magic, and has earned a reputation for her brash and outspoken characters.
When her show first began, Kansiime wrote all of her own scripts, but eventually sought outside help as the demand became too much to handle. She now hires a team of creative writers and local comedians to come up with the material, headed by Cotilda Inapo, a fellow Ugandan stand-up comedian.
Kansiime filed a copyright suit against Uganda Telecom, as well as two local broadcast stations, NBS and WBS, for using her image, voice and likeness in an ad to promote their own product without her consent. The case is ongoing.
Kansiime’s husband, Gerald Ojok, previously worked as a lecturer at Kyambogo University, but left his post to manage his wife’s career in Uganda. She has another manager, Johnson Mujungu, who takes care of her international affairs.
Kansiime and Ojok are excited to have children, and are working hard to ensure they are able to do so in the next few years. The two love children, and Kansiime hopes to release a music album for children later this year.
In an interview, Kansiime named her mom as her greatest inspiration, “If she’d gone professional, she’d be the best comedian in the world. She never loses an argument, she’s extremely witty, you can never catch her off guard, she will find something to say, so she definitely inspires me.”
Source: Kansiime Anne Interview
Despite much of her material focusing on her life as a Ugandan woman, Kansiime’s comedy resonates with an international audience. She has performed successful shows in England, Malaysia, Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, and Kenya. “People, let’s be ourselves. Let’s own our ‘Africanness’ because trust if we all start being proud of who we are, the Kim Kardashians of the world will be out of business.”
Source: Kansiime Anne Interview